The Purpose of Life
by AccessBlade
Summary: The Descender of Terresia says good-bye to her friends and the people she fought alongside with as she disappears. Inspired by Radiant Fading.


_**I've just read Radiant Fading by Trevor X and it was sad but good at the same time. I thought that they really didn't elaborate on what the thoughts of the Descender are when they fade back in to the tree. It kinda sucked that the saviour of the world just collapses by the tree and falls asleep without ever saying good bye to the other characters. I thought that in this story she should have a chance to say good bye to those she fought along side with. **_

_**And in case you haven't noticed, I've changed my character's name a bit. Sound's much better and more Descender like. I mean, when you created your own Descender, you didn't name them Bob did you?**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. I also don't own any of the other Tales Series. I only own the Descender. **_

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**The Purpose of life**

Every being born in to the world had purpose. The natural born beings of Terresia began life as babies, knowing nothing of the world and being rocked in the arms of those who bore them. Then they grew up, deciding what they wanted in life. Some wanted to start a family, others seeking out fame and fortune. And others just wanted to be the best.

Despite their limited powers, greed, and selfish desires... Altheria envied them.

She was the Descender of Terresia; the world's protector and guardian. It was the tree who had given her life in this world. And it was the same one that was taking her away.

A Descender's sole purpose of birth was that it was born whenever the world was being threatened by someone or something. In this case, it was both.

Widdershin, another Descender, had been feeding countless worlds to his own. At first, it had been called the Devourer and eventually Giligum. His purpose had been to merge all the other worlds with Giligum, creating eternal life within it. Altheria chuckled; she put an end to that plan with Mormo and Kanonno by her side.

"Good-bye," The blonde haired girl whispered to her friends once more before leaning back and sliding in to sitting position against the World Tree.

She hadn't told them. She didn't want to. She saw no point in telling them that her strength was waning as they watched the seeds of the devoured worlds rise up in to the sky. Altheria had seen them off before succumbing to her weakened body.

"Well, I guess this is it for me." She murmured.

Altheria knew what was happening. The purpose of being in the world was over and she no longer had any reason to exist among the citizens of Terresia. The World Tree was taking her back. She had known this ever since she was born, but it still saddened her to think about it. During the many quests she had to complete as a member of Ad Libitum, the Descender had grown fond of the many people she had to work for and worked with.

"I just wish..." She trailed off for a moment. "I could have said good-bye."

She closed her eyes, picturing the various images of her friends that she made on her travels. When they realized that Altheria never made it back to the guilds, they would try and find her. But by then, she would be unable to tell them what had happened to her.

_"Descender..." _

Altheria frowned; she could have sworn she heard someone speaking to her. She tried to turn her head to see if there was anyone there but to no avail; it seemed even moving took effort now.

_"Are your friends that important to you?" _The voice asked again.

She wondered if there was any point in answering disembodied voice's questions but decided to try anyways. "Yes. They are."

Looking back through her memories, she smiled. They may or may have not annoyed her at first but in the end, she valued every single one of them.

"They mean a lot to me. I'd gladly sacrifice myself if it were to ensure that they continued living on."

_"Very well." _

She didn't know how the voice did it or what it did in the first place, but all of a sudden she could hear voices ringing through her head.

_**"Man, I wonder if that fruit tastes good."**_ Altheria laughed weakly as she recognized the voice to be Reid's; the constantly hungry Ailily Ad Libitum member.

_**"Honestly Reid," **_The person sounded exasperated. It was Raine Sage, the receptionist for Ailily's guild Branch. _**"Is food the only thing you think about?" **_

_**"Huh?! Professor Sage? Reid?! How'd you both get in to my head?!" **_The person who spoke was Lloyd.

Altheria laughed harder as multiple voices were now talking at once. She recognized them all: Genis, Arche, Chester, Stahn, Rutee, Senel, Nanaly, Harold....

She was sure that there were more people who were in this interesting... conversation but were just keeping silent.

Altheria listened to the constant banter, unable to bring herself to interrupt. Just hearing their voices made what she was planning to say even more painful.

**"Guys?"** Altheria said out loud.

There was a pause as everyone seemed to register who spoke.

_**"Alther? Is that you?" **_Stahn asked.

The girl smiled softly, almost as if she was talking to the blond swordsman in person. **"Yeah... It's me."**

_**"Where the heck are you then?!" **_He exploded. _**"Come on! You're the reason why Giligum's been defeated!" **_

**"I..."**

_**"Yeah... I don't see you any where. How come you're not with us celebrating the Devourer's defeat?" **_Arche piped up.

_**"Allow her to speak." **_The voices that had been raised in agreement with the two died down as Kratos scolded them.

**"..."** Altheria was silent. Opening her eyes revealed that they were glazed over; she couldn't see any more. When she blinked, she found that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

**"That's because..."** A small smile formed on her face. **"The reason why I'm saying this is because I wanted to say something before I disappeared. I wanted to tell you... good-bye," **

There was stunned silence.

_**"What do you mean good-bye?!" **_

The girl listened to their yells and sighed. **"I mean exactly what I say. The reason I was brought in to existence in the first place was because Giligum was devouring Terresia. Now that he's dead, I've accomplished exactly what I was born for."**_ And therefore no longer have and reason to remain any longer. _

_**"But that's...!" **_She could hear the anger, hurt and betrayal in Lloyd's voice.

**"You know, I've enjoyed the time I spent with you guys. Even if it was short and even though I might have said I hated it."**

_**"You say it like you're dying!" **_Chester burst out angrily.

**"I'm not dying. I'm just going back to where I came from."** Altheria saw particles of light that weren't the seeds of other worlds drifting upwards. She realized it was _her. _

**"I wish I could stay and watch the world replenish. But..."**She hesitated for a moment. **"I don't think I'll be able to."** She laughed slightly.

**"I wanted to tell you thank you. Thank you for everything. And even though I won't be able to see you again in person, I'll continue to watch over you and this world. And continue to protect it with all of my strength." ** She glanced up at the sky one last time.

Finally, she closed her eyes. Her body slumped over and her head tilted to the side. A gentle breeze brushed strands of her hair to the side to reveal that she was smiling. A soft golden glow enveloped her and when it died down, she was gone.

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_**Wow, this is morbid. And I wasn't even planning morbid. Anyways, I'm done. Can you guys tell me what you think? And should I write a sequel to this? **_

**_The pronunciation of the Descender's name is: "Al-ther (just imagine tear as in you ripped your shirt except with an 'h' sound)- Ria._  
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